


Christmas Remix

by Anthemyst



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, pretty minor angst/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 04:46:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13182660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anthemyst/pseuds/Anthemyst
Summary: When Paris' hottest feline superhero asks Nino Lahiffe for a Christmas favor, Nino will do whatever it takes to make it the best Christmas ever.





	Christmas Remix

**Author's Note:**

  * For [adorkablecreepingweirdo](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=adorkablecreepingweirdo).



Nino loved walking through Paris at night in December. It was dark before he left school, and the entire city was lit up, with Christmas decorations everywhere you looked. Nino would put his headphones on, bundle up, and walk through the sights to his own personal soundtrack. Sometimes he stuck to the classics, seasonal carols and such, or sometimes he’d use the time to listen to works in progress, remixes that he still hadn’t gotten quite right, as he wandered the streets with no particular destination.

The drawback to this activity, it turned out, was that a certain superhero clad in black had a _much_ easier time sneaking up on you.

“Gah!” Nino shouted, stumbling backwards and almost falling into a snowbank as Chat appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Chat grabbed his arm and started saying something, but Nino couldn’t hear until he switched off his headphones.

“-about that, really, I thought you heard me or I wouldn’t have-”

“It’s cool, dude,” Nino said, trying to recover some of his wounded pride as his heart rate slowly went back to normal. “What, um, what’s going on? Was I about to walk into an akuma attack or something?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Chat said quickly. “Actually, I need a favor.”

Nino just barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping. “From me?” he asked skeptically.

“Yeah, look, so there’s this big Christmas Giving Tree event every year, maybe you’ve seen some of the trees around? You know, they have requests on them instead of ornaments? And people can take one and buy the gift for the kid, there’s a dozen different organizations for at-risk kids, kids in need, you know?”

Nino nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen those around.”

“Right, well, they asked me and Ladybug to sponsor it this year, we’re gonna give all the presents out the night before Christmas Eve at this big charity event, and they need someone to do the music.”

Nino kept nodding for a few seconds, until he realized what Chat was saying. “Wait, me? You want me to do it? Not, like, a professional DJ or something?”

“If you can’t do it that’s fine, no pressure, I just thought-”

“Of course I can do it!” Nino interrupted, a little too loudly. “I’d love to, that sounds great! I, uh, I was just surprised, that’s all, I didn’t think you’d want me for a big event like that.”

“Are you kidding?” Chat asked, grinning. “You’ll be great, the kids are going to love you. I wouldn’t have dreamed of asking anyone else. You’ll definitely do it, then?” Nino nodded. “Purrfect.” With a quick wink, Chat disappeared from the street as suddenly as he’d appeared.

 

* * *

 

Nino ran as fast as he could all the way to the Agreste mansion. He was completely winded by the time he reached its imposing gates, and just managed to stay upright long enough to press the buzzer.

“Can I help you?” the voice of Nathalie Sancoeur asked, as the security camera zoomed in on Nino’s face.

“Hi… Nathalie,” Nino wheezed, leaning against the gate as he caught his breath. “Adrien… in?”

There were two possible answers, Nino had learned through experience. If Adrien’s father was out of the house on business, Nathalie would make a show of protesting but ultimately let him in. If Mr. Agreste was in, however-

“Mr. Lahiffe, you have been informed repeatedly that you are not welcome on the premises.”

Nino groaned. “Come on, Nathalie, I really need to talk to him and he’s not answering his phone.”

“Absolutely not. You can talk to him at school tomorrow.”

“Adrien’s dad won’t even know I’m there, I promise. Please? It’s Christmas.”

“It is December fifth, Mr. Lahiffe.” Nino shot his best puppy eyes at the security camera, and a moment later there was a soft sigh and the gate buzzed open. Grinning, Nino made his way to the front door.

“Mr. Agreste is in a teleconference for the next seventy-eight minutes,” Nathalie said as Nino entered the foyer. “I expect you to be gone well before then.”

“Thanks, Nathalie, you’re a lifesaver.” Quickly but quietly, Nino made his way up the giant staircase to Adrien’s room. He knocked softly, and after a few seconds Adrien opened the door, slightly out of breath.

“Nino?”

“Dude, you are not going to _believe_ what just happened,” Nino told him, quickly making his way into the room. “Why weren’t you answering your phone?”

“Hmm? Oh, I was, uh…” Adrien glanced around the room, “...climbing.”

Nino snorted. “Right. Well, anyway, I was walking around the city, brainstorming some mixes…” Nino quickly filled his friend in on his entire encounter with the city’s superhero.

“Wow,” Adrien said, “that’s really cool, man.”

“‘Really cool’? ‘Really cool’ doesn’t even begin to cover it, Adrien!” Nino started pacing, and Adrien laughed.

“Oh, come on, you’ve met him before, it’s not that big a deal, right?”

“He’s never asked me for a _favor_ before!” Nino flopped down on Adrien’s couch. “I guess I should have realized you wouldn’t get it, you’re Team Ladybug and all that.”

Adrien’s cheeks went pink. “I am not Team La-wait, are you saying you’re Team Chat?”

“No,” Nino said, a little too quickly. “He’s just… I mean I know he can be kind of flirty or whatever, but he’s really genuine, too. He really cares about these kids, you know?”

Nodding, Adrien sat down next to Nino on the couch. “Yeah, I’m sure he does. Which is probably why he asked the best DJ in Paris to handle the music.”

“You have to say that, you’re my best friend.” Nino took a deep breath. “I can’t screw this up, this has to be better than perfect. You have to help me.”

“Me? Help with what? I don’t know the first thing about music.”

“Just listen to a few mixes once I finish them and tell me if you think Chat would like them, okay?”

“How would I know what Chat would like?”

“I don’t know, man, but who else can I ask? Please?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll listen to a few mixes.”

 

* * *

 

‘A few mixes’, it turned out, meant about a dozen a week.

“Dude, _no_ ,” Adrien said, as Nino approached him once class let out for lunch.

“I didn’t even say anything,” Nino protested.

“You’re holding those earbuds again, I know what that means.”

Nino sighed. “Okay, just _one_ more-”

“No.”

“But I added this choral part to the latest Jagged Stone seasonal single, I need _somebody_ to tell me if it works or not!” Begrudgingly, Adrien took the earbuds and put them in as they made their way out of school. “Well?”

Adrien’s head moved in time with the music. “This is great, man.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that?”

“No, it gives it a depth or something.” Nino continued to frown skeptically. “Trust me, dude, Chat is going to love it.”

 

* * *

 

Chat and Ladybug weren’t scheduled to arrive until about an hour into the event, so Nino threw on some tame Christmas-themed mingling music as the kids arrived in small groups from their various charities and youth centers. Once he was satisfied it would last the hour, Nino began checking for the fifth time that day the playlist he’d finally come up with.

“Hey, dude.”

“Adrien!” Nino looked up, surprised. “I didn’t know you were coming to this.”

Adrien smiled. “I can’t stay long, but I had to stop by, didn’t I? After all your hard work?”

Nino grinned. “Thanks, man, I couldn’t have done it without you. Think you can stay long enough to watch Chat and LB arrive? They’re delivering all the presents, it’s gonna be the high point of the evening.”

Adrien bit his lip. “No, sorry, I think I’m gonna miss them. Busy schedule and all that.”

“This close to Christmas? That sucks, dude.”

Adrien shrugged. “Yeah, I know.”

Nino looked at his friend’s face more closely. “Is that all? You seem kind of bummed.”

“It’s nothing, I just… thought my father was going to make it, that’s all. The company is one of the primary donors for the event, but I just got a text from Nathalie that something came up.”

“Aw, I’m sorry.”

Adrien forced a grin. “It’s fine, I don’t know why I even expected him to show up in the first place, you know? Forget it, show me your set list, I know there isn’t a chance in hell you haven’t made some changes since you showed it to me this morning.”

“Well… okay, yes,” Nino confessed, “I did make a _few_ changes, if you don’t mind hearing about them…”

 

* * *

 

“My Lady! I know we’re both busy protecting Paris, but would you do me the honor of a single dance?”

As expected, Ladybug and Chat Noir’s arrival had been spectacular. The younger kids had shrieked so loudly with excitement that they completely drowned out Nino’s hand-picked entrance music, but of course it was worth it to see the looks on their faces. The older kids were too worried about looking dorky to cheer at first, but by the time Ladybug and Chat reached the center of the dance floor, they were clapping just as enthusiastically. After that, the heroes quickly started distributing gifts, moving quickly through the list while still managing to wish each child a very personal Merry Christmas as they handed the wrapped presents over.

One little girl, in particular, stood out to Nino. Most of the kids had requested the hottest toys of the season, but this little girl had asked for a coat. It seemed messed up to Nino, at first, that someone so young had asked for something so practical, that she couldn’t let herself ask for something completely frivolous and self-indulgent the way Nino always got to when he was little. But then, oh, the look on her face when she unwrapped that coat. It was just about the nicest coat you could get for a kid. Gabriel brand, if Nino wasn’t mistaken, and it was from their superhero line. Red with black spots, an obvious Ladybug homage that still somehow managed to be stylish instead of tacky. Her face had lit up like a Christmas tree, and even though the room was warm from all the people packed inside, she’d immediately put the coat on and hadn’t taken it off since.

And now that the unwrapping was over, Chat was asking her to dance.

Nino hadn’t thought the girl’s eyes could get bigger, but when Chat dialed his cheesy, Chat Noir trademarked charm all the way up, Nino thought her eyes might actually pop out of her face. Unable to speak, she nodded silently, and Chat immediately began twirling her around. He glanced over at Nino’s DJ station, caught Nino’s eye, and winked.

How could you not fall for a guy like that?

 

* * *

 

The evening was winding down when Nino finally got to his pièce de résistance, the remix he’d spent almost all of his effort on perfecting over the past few weeks. Bracing himself as the track started up, Nino took a breath, looked around, and-

-there was no sign of Chat anywhere.

Ladybug was still present, dancing with a large group of kids near the giant tree. The energy of the room picked up once the familiar Jagged track started playing, and the kids around Ladybug started laughing as she began to do a few simple yo-yo tricks in time to the beat.

Nino glanced at the room’s exit, watching it as the song continued. Still no Chat.

Nino knew he shouldn’t worry about it. He was here for the kids, and the kids were loving every minute of the event. If someone like Chat had to duck out early, it had to be for something way more important than listening to some remix Nino had made, right?

Nino checked his equipment and made sure there was at least another half hour of music queued up, then hopped down from his station and made his way to the exit. It was dumb, he shouldn’t be abandoning his post, but he couldn’t help himself. Nino made his way out of the room and through the building’s hallways. He turned one corner, then another, not really thinking about which way he was going, so when he finally ran into Chat, Nino was almost as surprised as the hero was.

“Nino?” Chat had been leaning against the wall about halfway down the hallway, looking like he’d just heard Christmas was cancelled. He straightened as Nino approached. “Is everything okay? Shoot, did I miss something? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be gone so long.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Nino said quickly. “I was just, um, wondering where you’d gone. Everything okay?”

Chat nodded, but hesitantly. “Yeah, fine,” he said, “it’s just, um, hard to be ‘on’ all the time, you know? Just needed a break, that’s all. Not that tonight hasn’t been fantastic!” he added quickly. “You’re doing a great job, I’m having a blast, I really am. It’s just, some personal stuff came up right before I got here and I didn’t really have a chance to deal with it, so,” Chat shrugged. “I let stuff build up, I guess. I’m sorry, let’s go back.”

“Nah, man,” Nino said, leaning against the wall next to Chat, “take all the time you need. You wanna talk about it?”

Chat laughed softly. “Yeah,” he admitted, “but I guess I shouldn’t. It’s personal and, well, secret identity and all that.”

“Right,” Nino said. “I understand.” They stood next to each other in silence for a few minutes.

“You’d think he’d be getting _better_ , that’s all,” Chat suddenly said out of nowhere. “I get it, it’s hard, but he managed _something_ last year, you know? And last year was the first year! This year should be easier, but he’s gotten worse.” Nino, who had no idea what any of this meant, settled for nodding silently. “It didn’t just happen to him, either, but at least I’m _trying_ , it’s hard for me too, but I’ve been trying for almost two years and I just. Can’t keep trying and getting nothing back, nothing’s ever enough for him and I’m _sick_ of it.”

As Chat leaned back against the wall, folding his arms across his chest defensively and blinking just a little too rapidly, Nino could have sworn he caught sight of a small shadow, right at the corner of his vision.

 _Akuma_.

No. No, no, no, not here, not at Christmas, not _Chat_. Nino barely had time to register the thought, but he knew on a guttural level that an akumatized Chat would be bad enough, but an akumatized Chat at Christmas? It was almost unthinkable, Nino had to do whatever it took to prevent it. Unfortunately, even after over a year of the attacks, there wasn’t a whole lot people had figured out for stopping them.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you with all that,” Chat continued. “I just-”

Nino leaned forward and kissed Chat.

This decision, made purely on instinct, caught up with Nino’s brain about five seconds later. He pulled back, and Chat stared at him, stunned. “Why…”

“I thought I saw-” Nino caught himself mid-answer. He wasn’t sure he’d seen anything, really, and even if he had, something told him it wouldn’t do much for Chat’s spirits to hear about it.

“Thought you saw what?”

“Uh...mistletoe?” Nino’s face went bright red as Chat burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, that was just about the dumbest thing I could have done, wasn’t it? I should go back, you don’t have to-”

“Stay,” Chat said, grabbing Nino’s hand before he could escape. “Please? Just for a few more minutes, then we can head back together.”

“Okay,” Nino whispered. “Do you, um, I mean, you don’t have to-”

“I think I see that mistletoe you were talking about,” Chat said softly, before leaning in and kissing Nino back. “Thank you.”

“Me? Thank _you_ ,” Nino said without thinking, and his blush immediately deepened. Chat laughed again.

“No, for… for listening, for getting my mind off things, for reminding me that I have a lot to be happy for.” Chat stole another kiss, and another, each one going straight to Nino’s head and making it impossible to think clearly. “Merry Christmas, Nino.”


End file.
